


Savor

by suckerformagic



Series: Sensitive [4]
Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Wild warehouse shenanagines, and vaguely injured, blue raspberry is such a fake flavor, both are dead tired, fluff?, formatting is weird, im bad at tagging, in the past, it was rainy i got sappy i dunno, just read it, maybe ill write that sometime, not in the fic, not really sure what happened, once again thank you to rarecoincidinks for betaing this silly mess, seattles a beautiful place people, sorry - Freeform, this is the aftermath of a big case, uncultured dirk, wow look at that vague summary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 15:17:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9613448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suckerformagic/pseuds/suckerformagic
Summary: Todd is tired, and he's pretty sure it's gonna rain.





	

It had started out a normal day, with a normal case, nothing interesting whatsoever, incredibly straightforward. He should have know it wouldn't last.

 

Normality is hard to come by when you’re friends with a man to whom strangeness clings like a particularly persistent disease.

 

The case in question wasn't even a real case, just a missing cat poster that Dirk had pulled off a telephone pole, but, being the holistic detective he was, Dirk had, of course, managed to stumble his way into a string of large-scale warehouse thefts, and the attempted murder of a rather unhappy plumber.

 

At least they had found the cat, even if it wasn't the same color as it was before.

 

Said cat was currently cradled in the arms of a very tired, but nonetheless satisfied detective clad in an unfortunately orange leather jacket. He was wheezing slightly, probably from all the running, or possibly the hard punch he had taken to the gut earlier, it was hard to tell. He was ringing a doorbell very impatiently, and probably more times than was entirely appropriate.

 

Todd, not wanting to get involved with yet another stranger, was sitting on the front steps leading up to the door, pulling cactus spines out of his fingers and gazing absently at the elementary school playground across the street.

 

It had been a very long day.

 

When the door was finally answered, Dirk hurriedly recounted the day’s events, and the necessary application of hairspray to a feline. The confused owner accepted his cat suspiciously and said his thanks; more to make the disheveled,  possibly crazy man leave his front porch and less because he actually believed the cat to be his.

 

The door was closed, and Dirk finally took a moment to stop talking and just breathe, something that looked a little bit painful.

 

“We ought to get going Dirk, it's getting dark,” said Todd, pulling the last spine from his hand and standing. The sky was a solid dull grey, and though Todd was incapable of Dirk's “definitely not psychic” abilities, he had lived in Seattle long enough to know when it was going to rain.

 

“I expect you're right Todd,” the detective agreed with a slight nod, but he made no move to leave, just looked out into the empty street.

 

“That means “let’s get off this guy's porch”,” Todd sighed, a bit exasperated, “Can I use your phone to call a cab or something? Mine’s out of juice.”

 

“Mine was crushed by all those falling shelves, remember?” Dirk brushed his hand along the cut across his cheekbone in recollection and made his way down the stairs.

 

“Great.” Todd didn't really even know where they were, just somewhere in the Seattle suburbs. The guy who had dropped them off had driven away as soon as they were out of the car. Todd didn't really blame him, but it would have been nice to at least know where the closest bus stop was.

 

“Don't worry Todd,” said Dirk, giving an awkward shoulder pat in attempted reassurance, “we just need to go… ah, that way.” He pointed to a turn at random, definitely  not in the direction from which they had come .

“Are you sure?” asked Todd suspiciously. He glanced at the sky again. Yep, definitely rain.

 

“Certain! One hundred and ten percent! Okay maybe just one hundred- or more likely ninety. Um, actually somewhere around sixty- no, fifty percent. Forty two percent, bare minimum.” Dirk nodded, placing a hand on his stomach and taking another, slightly strained breath. “Anyways, let's go Todd. I'm forty two percent certain it's this way.”

 

With a sigh Todd followed, as Dirk began to chatter about their wild warehouse adventures. Though still a bit bitter about the cactus, Todd listened absently, and added a word of confirmation whenever Dirk paused for breath. His hands still stung, and he could feel a bruise forming on his jaw.

 

A spattering of small droplets started to spot the pavement, increasing in pace until suddenly everything was awash in an intense and sudden downpour. The world became quickly dark, drenched, and heavy.

 

Todd grunted and dashed for cover, splashing through the newly forming puddles as he found his way underneath a larger pine tree. He brushed water droplets out of his hair and glanced around tiredly. It was only then that he noticed the significant absence of a certain brightly-colored detective.

 

“Dirk? Dirk?!” The rain made everything thick and flurried, nearly impossible to see through, but he thought he could glimpse a smudge of orange from the direction he had come. The idea of running out into the rain again had him hesitating for only a moment, before he suddenly found himself out in the downpour once more.

 

Cold, soaked, and wishing he had worn more than his thin windbreaker, Todd picked his way through the rain towards his friend.

 

_Dirk?_

 

He was standing perfectly still, jacket not even zipped against the cold. His head was turned towards the sky and his eyes were closed. He held himself in a way that made him look much thinner and smaller than he was.. Rain rolled off the orange leather, but his shoulders and hands were completely relaxed. He looked almost peaceful.

 

Todd called his name one more time, but to no response. Huffing, he moved closer, but with his eyes trained on Dirk he didn't notice the cracks in the street until his foot found its way into one. He stumbled and fell directly into Dirk’s back, bringing them both to the ground.

 

“T-Todd? Wha- erm... hi?” Dirk had landed on his forearms directly in a puddle of water and dead leaves. He rolled over into a sitting position, his eyebrows high on his forehead and his hands scratched up from the pavement. He placed one on his stomach again and stuttered some nonsense sounds, disoriented.

 

Todd was on his side, a lovely hole torn in the shoulder of his jacket. He had never really liked it anyways, this would be a good excuse to throw it away. He set his hand in a puddle and pushed himself onto his knees. “Sorry, Dirk. I must’ve… um, what were you doing?” Todd brushed some grit  off his hands and pushed wet hair out of his eyes.

 

The rain hummed through the air around them, steadily beating against the ground and across their shoulders. Dirk brought his eyebrows together.

 

“What was I...? Oh, um, the rain- it was just, so nice Todd, I don't know-” he tripped over his tongue for a second, and then looked at Todd, who was completely drenched and shivering slightly. “Oh dear, you're all wet! And it's my fault too, because I was out here and you came to find me, oh, sorry, I, um,” he glanced around for help, but the dim suburb lights, evergreens and endless rain offered no solution. Then his eyes fell on Todd’s torn jacket, “Oh! Here! Take this.”

 

He shrugged off his orange leather monstrosity and shoved it at Todd. “No, Dirk, really, I'm okay, I'm the one who pushed you down,” he tried to resist, blue eyes meeting Dirk’s incredulously, but to no avail.

 

“Nonsense, Todd! Take it.” The detective’s white button up and purple tie (a gift from Farah) were completely soaked, offering no protection from the onslaught, but Dirk didn't even seem to notice. He met Todd's eyes with determination, and Todd gave, taking the jacket and pulling it over his own.

 

Dirk found a warm smile at the sight of his oversized jacket on a very disgruntled Todd. Then he laughed, suddenly finding the whole thing very amusing. Todd grinned, and then joined in.

 

Two tired men sat in the middle of a small street in the Seattle suburbs, one much taller than the other, one wearing two jackets and the other wearing none, both laughing like rain hadn't soaked through their bones. And for a moment neither of them carried any weight on their shoulders.

 

When their laughter had mostly died, Todd found his way to his feet. “We ought to get going Dirk.” He offered a hand to the drenched detective by his feet, who accepted it gratefully.

 

“I- hm- suppose so,” answered Dirk, wheezing, the effects of their earlier adventure still evident in his inability to find his breath.

 

“You okay Dirk?”

 

Dirk nodded. “Just, uh, a bit light headed,” he still hadn't let go of Todd's hand. “I'm fine, here, let's go this way, there's a store around this corner.” He pointed, still breathy. Todd didn't question this knowledge, Dirk tended to get flustered when people talked about his abilities, lying and trying to play it off as nothing, Todd would rather just leave it.

 

Todd led Dirk around the corner, and, sure enough, a brightly lit 7-11 was waiting for them, 24- hour service and all. Then entered, guiltlessly dripping all over the floor. Todd let go of Dirk and approached the cashier, a bored looking girl with red hair and maybe a bit too much eye makeup playing on her phone. She glanced up at Todd and wrinkled her nose.

 

“Can I use your phone?” She nodded but she was looking behind him. Todd turned and found Dirk, shivering with his arms wrapped around himself, looking around the store wide-eyed. He bumped a display case and something fell, which he quickly picked up with an embarrassed shrug. The he rushed over to the spinning slurpee machine, examined it and tapped the glass. He glanced over at Todd hopefully.

 

“No.”

 

“But I-”

 

“You're literally shivering.”

 

“It says blue raspberry! I've never seen a blue raspberry! I need to know what it-”

 

“Dirk, no.”

 

“Dirk, yes.” He walked up to the bemused cashier.

 

“How much for the frothy ice drinks?”

 

“Dirk-” Todd started, but was shushed by a dismissive wave of Dirk's hand. The soaked detective was dripping water onto the counter and his wet hair lay plastered to his forehead. His clothing clung to his skin and the bags under his eyes were impressively prominent. The cashier gave a hesitant glance at each of them, flustered.

 

“The frothy… oh, um, 1.79 for the large ones.”  

 

Dirk grinned and clapped his hands together, sending droplets of water in every direction. He looked at Todd expectantly.

 

Todd sighed, conceding. Dirk rushed to the machine and filled a huge cup with blue raspberry slurpee while Todd handed the cashier two dollars  (keep the change) and used her phone to call Farah. By the time Todd finished, Dirk had found his way to a bench outside, covered by the building's roof, and was delightfully sipping at his drink, watching the rain. Todd thanked the cashier and went to join him.

 

“You know, Todd,” Dirk said as Todd sat, not turning his head, “you're lucky you've lived in Seattle for so long.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

“It rains a lot here,” Dirk said simply, taking another drink of the slurpee. He was still shivering, and Todd realized that he should probably return the jacket. As he took it off Dirk started talking again, as he tended to do. His lips and tongue were blue from the drink.

 

“What do blue raspberries look like? Are they just like regular raspberries but blue? Do they grow on the same plant?”

 

“No Dirk, it's just a flavor, there's no such thing as a blue raspberry.”

 

“What?! Why would they make up a lie like that?”

 

“I don't know Dirk.”

 

They continued like this for a while, until Farah pulled up and lectured them on not taking proper cautions against the weather. Then she drove them home, still rambling, heat on as high as could be comfortable. By the time she pulled in to their lot, both men were sound asleep in the back of her car.

 

No one was surprised when Dirk woke up with a cold the next day.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for making it all the way to end of that mess! Leave a kudos and a comment saying what you liked! Also check out the other works in this series, there's some interesting stuff there. Thanks for reading! Really, it means a lot.


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